About Rodica Ojog-Brașoveanu
Rodica Ojog-Brașoveanu was one of Romania’s most important crime writers, and for me she is also one of those authors whose books became part of my reading life very early. Born in Bucharest on 28 August 1939, she initially studied law, although her studies were interrupted for political reasons in the 1950s. She later resumed them in Iași, qualified as a lawyer and practised for several years before eventually leaving law behind to write full-time.
Her writing career began with a television script in 1969. Her first crime novel, Moartea semnează indescifrabil, appeared in 1971 after her husband, actor Cosma Brașoveanu, encouraged her to write it. By 1999 she had published 35 novels, most of them crime fiction, although she also experimented with historical fiction and even science fiction. She died in Bucharest on 2 September 2002.
What makes her crime novels so enjoyable to me is not only the mystery. It is the humour, the social observation and the characters. People in her books can be ridiculous, vain, selfish, clever, manipulative, charming or completely convinced of their own importance, and she has a wonderful way of exposing all of that without turning the story into a lecture.
Why I Read Rodica Ojog-Brașoveanu
My relationship with her books started with Bună seara, Melania!, the first Rodica Ojog-Brașoveanu novel I ever read. That book introduced me not only to Melania Lupu, but also to Mirciulică, her unforgettable black cat, and opened the door to an author whose mysteries I would continue to enjoy for years.
Her crime fiction is where she works best for me. I love the clever plots, the humour and the way apparently unimportant people or details can suddenly become essential. Her attempts at historical fiction have never worked nearly as well for me, but when she is writing mysteries, especially when she allows her humour to come through, she can be absolutely brilliant.
That difference is part of what makes reading through her bibliography interesting. I do not automatically love everything simply because her name is on the cover. Some books work much better for me than others. But when a Rodica Ojog-Brașoveanu mystery clicks, it really clicks.
The Melania Lupu Series
Melania Lupu is probably her most recognisable recurring character: intelligent, unpredictable, frequently underestimated and rarely interested in behaving the way other people expect her to. And, of course, there is Mirciulică.
- Cianură pentru un surâs
- Bună seara, Melania!
- 320 de pisici negre
- Anonima de miercuri
- Dispariția statuii din parc
- O toaletă à la Liz Taylor
Rodica Ojog-Brașoveanu Reviews on BookFairy
⭐ Apel din necunoscut
A witty Romanian mystery full of suspense, sharp observations, memorable characters and dark humour.
[Read the BookFairy review →]
⭐ Bună seara, Melania!
The first Rodica Ojog-Brașoveanu novel I ever read and the book that introduced me to Melania Lupu and Mirciulică.
[Read the BookFairy review →]
⭐ Enigmă la mansardă
A classic mystery built around secrets, suspicion and the uncomfortable fact that people are rarely hiding only one thing.
[Read the BookFairy review →]
⭐ Răzbunarea sluților
One of the funniest of her mysteries I have read, with interconnected lives, revenge, justice and an enormous amount of humour.
[Read the BookFairy review →]
Where to Start
If you have never read Rodica Ojog-Brașoveanu before, I would start with her crime fiction rather than the historical novels. Bună seara, Melania! is especially important to me because it was my own introduction to her work, although starting with Cianură pentru un surâs gives you the Melania Lupu series in order.
If you prefer standalone mysteries, Apel din necunoscut, Enigmă la mansardă and Răzbunarea sluților are good examples of the qualities I enjoy most in her writing: clever construction, human weakness, suspicion, irony and humour.
Why She Still Works for Me
The mysteries may belong to another period, but the people rarely feel irrelevant. Vanity, greed, resentment, jealousy, pride, fear and the desire to appear more respectable than we really are have not exactly disappeared.
And perhaps that is why I keep enjoying her books. The crime matters, but the people are usually even more interesting.